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There
are many defects of the modern mind, but surely one of the most serious is its
being conditioned to prize mere functional utility at the expense of beauty. When
we consider the value of something, we almost always do so in terms of its
usefulness. What’s it good for?What
function does it perform?Is it
efficient? The
question we rarely seem to ask is, “Is it beautiful?” How often do we purchase
something simply for the pure aesthetic delight we take in it? Are we not inclined to think such an expense a waste of
money? Yet
God has given us senses that appreciate beauty – sights, sounds, and smells
that have a pleasing effect. Sadly, however, Christians often fail to cultivate
their aesthetic sense. It is thought to be unspiritual to “waste time” on such
things. But God’s delight in things beautiful is displayed in his handiwork. Think
of the varieties of color he splashes on the sky at sunset, the thousands of
hues of green in nature (with none of them clashing), the sparkling heav…

In
Numbers 16 we read about a man by the name of Korah, who along with some men
from the tribe of Reuben, accused Moses of exalting himself in Israel. “They
assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them,
‘You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of
them, and the Lord is among them.
Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (16:3) It adds an interesting
twist to the story when we realize that this Korah was Moses’ cousin. Their
fathers were brothers.

The
charge that Korah brought against Moses and Aaron had to do with the greater
access to God they enjoyed with respect to officiating in the tabernacle. Only
they and Aaron’s sons were allowed to serve as priests. Because of this Korah
accused them of “exalting themselves above the assembly of the Lord,” claiming that “all in the
congregation are holy, every one of them.” Psalm 106 says, “Men in the camp
were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of …

“Logic!”
said the Professor half to himself. “Why
don’t they teach logic at these schools?” - C. S. Lewis, The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - I
recently came across this picture, which seems to be making the rounds on
social media in one form or another. What do you suppose is its purpose, its intended
meaning? What conclusion does its creator wish us to draw? Is it simply that
blacks, whites, gays, straights, religious people, and atheists all have the
same basic skeletal structure? This is true enough, of course, but also so
obvious as to scarcely need pointing out. So
what is its meaning? Given the social and political climate of the day, it
seems to be this: that blacks, whites,
gays, straights, religious people, and atheists are all morally equivalent. The
picture contains an argument that might be expressed in the following syllogism: People
who have the same skeletal structure are morally equivalent. Blacks,
whites, gays, straights, religious people, and atheists have the same…